Lady Knight Sabre?
by Larania Drake
Summary: Kel walks! She tries new fashions! Blayce is... er... out on a rampage destroying the city! Who you gonna call?
1. Default Chapter

Kelandry: Lady Knight... Sabre?

  
  


Disclaimer: The Protector of the Small series belongs to Tamora Pierce and Random House, and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

Warning: story will contain slash in later parts.

  
  


Kelandry of Mindelan sighed as she stood at the wedding of her friend Neal. 

She was truly happy for him and her friend Yukimi. They made a lovely couple. Often though, she wondered what it was she was doing wrong. Her flirtation with Dom hadn't amounted to more than a few quick kisses in out of the way corners. It just hadn't felt right. Oh, sure, Dom had wanted to bed her, and at first, she had been more than willing. As time had worn on though, she began to get a queer feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was not being love sick, that much was certain.

She shrugged it off in the practice courts. 

Here, she was in formal armor as Neal's Best Man, and felt like giggling at the irony. 

Smiling she handed him his ring on cue, and then waited for the rest of the ceremony to end. Despite her own loneliness at night... she was happy. 

Or so she thought.

~*~*~*~

  
  


Blayce aka the Nothing Man, was not happy.

His soul had been placed, upon his death, in the last of the killing devices that he had built. His punishment.

King Maggur was furious. He had been outraged that a single knight had been able to defeat him. This had led him to make the decision: Blayce, the Killing Device, would have to redeem himself. He would go and take the knight's body. 

Currently, Blayce was looking through his spell books, but that was a problem. This hands were knives, which meant that holding his grimores was very difficult. The King had assigned him someone to hold such things for him, and was currently holding a particularly thick and ancient one open. The Nothing Man was grateful he had no sense of smell in this form. The boy had wet himself.

~*~*~*~*~

  
  


Kel and her servant, Tobe, walked down the merchant's district, to the humble shop of Lalasa the dressmaker.

"So," huffed Tobe, trying to keep up with his mistress. "You go to help her teach these self defense classes?"

The Lady Knight nodded. "I have brought the Shang Wildcat on occasion, and Yuki. We start sparring with each other, and show that girls don't have to allow themselves to be hurt, and how to get away, and who to go to for help if they need it. Sometimes we bring in healers."

"You lot do this for free?" Tobe asked, holding his spear and blinking. "You are one odd noble, pardon my saying so," he said under his breath. Kel just grinned. She was used to that.

"How many lady knights do you know?"

Tobe just shook his head again.

"Why do you do it, Lady? Help people?" he asked, then shook his head again. "Not t'sound ungrateful, but ye don't have to. Most nobles don't. I thought it was t' way of things."

"I know its how things usually are done," Kel replied. "But that doesn't mean it's the way things should be."

Tobe sighed. He had heard her before. Frankly, he was very happy that it seemed that no matter what happened, she was still one of the fairest people he had ever met. He smiled, knowing that he had been very lucky to have her come into his life. Otherwise, he would still be slaving away in that way house. He could have expected to die in a few years.

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Kel asked, turning to him. Tobe shook his head. 

"I was a'thinking that if you hadn't come along, I would be dead in a few years. Then I a'realized that I might die anyways, you being the Lady Knight and all," he said cheerfully. "But dyin' with you would be better than being in a way house, 'cause I get to do something first!"

"Oh, Tobe," Mindelan sighed, pausing to look at him. "I don't want anyone I care about to die. I you are worried about it, I can have you sent to my home fief," she offered, only to have Tobe shake his head vigorously. 

"Lady, I's in no WAY want to miss what you will do next," he said emphatically. "I ain't been bored since meeting ye!"

The sparrows and Jump had been watching all this, Jump's tail wagging and tongue lolling in what was obviously a laugh, and the birds twittering with humor. They were quite happy with the newest edition to their pack/flock, and weren't abashed to let people know it. 

Kel grinned back at her charge. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Tobe nodded back, and both of them headed down to the dressmaker's shop- and suddenly stopped when the sky turned dark. Storm clouds gathered heavily over them, but no rain fell. The sense of pressure and foreboding did increase to the point of where the two had paused, feeling the hair on their necks start to stand up.

These two were not the type to stand and just wait- both had their weapons out, Kel with her glaive and Tobe with his short spear, and were back to back in a flash, looking for danger and a way out. 

Clank

Clank

The sparrows shrilled in terror, as one of the monsters of their nightmares started to head towards them. Kel nearly froze as she saw what she had hoped, prayed never to see again.

A killing device. 

"Tobe, run for help, I'll hold it here," the lady knight said calmly, though the urge run or wet herself was strong. Gods... who had learned the horrible art of creating those monstrosities?

Tobe didn't move. "Lady, I can't just leave you!"

"Yes, you can, because there are other people here who can't fight. Get the army, Tobe," Sir Kel said with finality, and Tobe couldn't help but obey. With a sob, he turned and ran, leaving Kel alone...

~*~*~*~*~

  
  


"So, its just you and me," said the whining, echoing voice from inside the killing device. Kel shivered, then frowned. She knew that voice.

"Blayce?" she asked, circling it, while it watched.

"You- you are a woman!" it exclaimed. It was then that Kel noticed the glowing swirl of Fire behind the metallic menace. She could see through it another room, one that looked suspiciously like a work room.

Kelandry snarled. "My name is Lady Knight Kelandry of Mindelan, Protector of the Small- and I will not be defeated by a NOTHING MAN!"

"I am more than you can imagine! I am the most brilliant mage alive-"

"You aren't alive," she sneered at him. He was off balance, so she rushed him, slamming the butt of her glaive down on his head then avoiding his bladed hands. Howling, Blayce tried to use his magic, but Kel kept him reacting instead of thinking.

There was a scramble of feet as she kept battling the Nothing Man, the sound of Lalasa and her women coming, tossing stones and anything else they could find. The sparrows flew around, attempting to distract the contraption, while Jump barked, adding to the confusion. 

"STAY AWAY!" Kel yelled, trying to keep Blayce away from bystanders. It almost worked, because the clouds, dark and the threat of rain had sent the majority indoors. However-

"LADY KEL!" Tobe yelled, charging back, with a crowd behind him. Mages and other warriors attempted to get close, but the narrow streets worked against them. Then Blayce had a moment of wit-

He attacked Tobe as soon as he was in range. 

"NOOO!" Kel screamed, and drove between her boy and the freak. With her glaive she blocked his hands, but had forgotten his tail. 

Black Fire scorched the air, as the tail slammed into Kel's back. It tore at the flesh there, damaging her spine- and into the portal. The Fire had caused it to warp, and expand wildly. It pushed the Nothing Man Device through as well-

Then it snapped shut, leaving a stunned, tomblike silence behind.

"Lady Kel?" Tobe croaked, eyes wide with shock. No. It couldn't be...

There was nothing left, but a bloodstain and her glaive. 

The Protector of the Small was gone...

  
  


To be continued!


	2. chapter two

**Lady Knight… Saber?**

****

Disclaimer: Neither Protector of the Small, nor Bubblegum Crisis 2040 belongs to me, and I make no money from this work of fan fiction at all.

A/N: This takes place after Lady Knight, but is an AU for BCG. 

            Tobe held on to his mistress' glaive, the only thing he had left of her. 

            After the arrival of the mages and warriors to deal with the killing device, his Lady had thrown herself between him and the monster's tail, taking a bad wound, then disappearing with the metal freak into the portal that had brought it. Master Salamin hadn't been able to figure out yet how the killing device had arrived yet, or where Kel had gone.

            It didn't matter to Tobe; he knew she had to have died. He had taken the weapon and held it, held it as tightly as he could, and no one had been able to make him let go yet. At his feet sat Jump and on his shoulders several sparrows, to his back, Peachblossom and Hoshi. All of them felt broken. They were unified in their sorrow, and afraid that if they left that spot, they would not lonely loose their Knight-mistress, but each other as well.

            A hand gently rested on Tobe's shoulder. Turning, he saw Lalasa, the young woman who had been taking care of Lady Kel before he got there. The blond boy's chin trembled. So far, he hadn't let himself cry yet, because crying would make it real. The despair in the other woman's eyes hurt him nearly as much as his own loss.

            Blinking, he stared, as other people gathered around him, saying nothing, and they all looked to the black marble monument erected by Master Salamin in memory of the woman that had touched so many lives. 

            He could recognize so many. The King and Queen, there to remember the young squire with the guts to tell them a law was wrong. Lord Raoul, and Buri. Daine the Wildmage. Neal, Yuki, the princess and prince. The King's own, complete with horses. The children that had followed Kel even though she had tried to find them homes. Commoner and noble gathered together, not caring if they bumped one another, because she hadn't. In the distance, a scream shuddered the air, as a pair of Griffins, with their young, one half grown and the other covered in down, landed. They bowed their heads in memory of the one that had saved their fledgling. More, people that Tobe had never met arrived. All there to say goodbye to the protector of the Small.

            Tobe couldn't help it- he broke down and cried. He sobbed into Lalasa's skirts, still holding the glaive. As if his tears were a catalyst, more tears fell from the crowd, and the Griffins keened. Jump howled, the birds screamed, and the horses neighed. 

            How long this went on, no one could remember. 

            "Tobe," said a voice, and he looked to see Neal beside him. 

            He sniffed.

            "What do you want now? Kel freed you in her will. The other children will be going to Mindelan, with Kel's parents. Ilane decided that she would teach them in the spear, or glaive, like Kel was doing. You could go with them. You could stay here, and work with the horses. Stef the hostler needs an assistant."

            "You could come with us," Raoul commented softly. "You would always be welcome with the Own, you know."

            "The Riders would take you when you were old enough," Buri added. 

            "I don't know if ye would be happy in a dress shop," Lalasa said, back straight. "But you would be welcome there too."

            Tobe stared at them all, wide eyed. Jump nudged him with his nose.

            "I," he young man swallowed hard. "I don't know," he said softly. He could feel the polished teak of the glaive under his fingers. It seemed to give him courage. His shoulders straightened. "I'll go with Lady Ilane and learn t'use this pigsticker here, and then come back later. Someone needs to take up where Lady Kel left off, after all."

            The elegant, white haired woman Tobe had seen in the background paced up to him. "I'm sure Kel would be pleased," she said. Ilane smiled. "You will always be welcome in my home, Tobe."

            Things went quickly after that. The horses had decided to go with Tobe, and Jump with Lalasa, saying through Daine that she needed looking after. Tobe felt overwhelmed- but while he had lost his mistress, he had gained a family. He could finally see how Kel had seen the world. He owned it to her to keep going, for her sake.

~*~*~*~*~

            Leon McNichol stared in surprise as a young woman seemed to drop from the sky- in front of his helicopter. 

            "OH MY GOD!" he yelled, because something was dropping after her-

            "Is that a boomer?" Asked Dailey, gaping.

            "It doesn't look like any boomer I've seen before," Leon shouted, before getting on to the radio. "Tonight's already seen two rogues! We gotta beat the Knight Sabers there!"

            "What about the girl? Dailey yelped urgently- in time to see a green hard suited figure seem to launch from the closest building to catch her, before landing on a nearby rooftop, and launching into the air again.

            "Oh, shit, I think we are going to get upstaged again," Leon sighed, and dove the helicopter down.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            "What the HELL is that?" Nene squeaked, her boosters making her dodge out of the way of the falling thing. 

            "No idea," Priss answered, charging the metallic object. It lunged, and she blocked with her arm, before smashing her knuckle bomber into its side. "Its not like anything I've ever seen before- but its not as tough as the usual boomer. In fact, I'm not reading a core," she muttered, confused.

            "I got the girl, but she's really badly hurt. We need to get her to the hospital," Linna answered, "it looks like her back is lacerated, and who knows about internal injuries."

            "Abort that," interrupted a voice in their radio frequency. It was Sylia's. "She may have something to do with-"

            Nene, watching the boomer-thing suddenly lunge at Priss, fired her nails at its head- and a scream issued as a white fog came from the hole. The three Knight Sabers stopped and stared in shock, as the screaming continued and took the form of a human male- before dissipating into the crowd of onlookers.

            "HOLY SHIT!" screamed Nene, trembling. It had screamed like a damned spirit. There was something wrong- and she was desperately afraid that they would see something like that again.

            "Get back to base, and bring the girl with you," they heard.

            "But, Sylia-"

            "That's an order, Linna," their leader replied, and they nodded, though Linna paused. She looked down into the pained face of the unconscious woman in her arms. Absently she brushed the hair from her face.

            "We'll take care of you," she promised softly, and leapt away. 

~*~*~*~*~

            Kelandry hadn't expected to wake up again. When Blayce had hit her in the back, she had honestly thought she would die, because she had known of people dying from spinal wounds. If it didn't kill her- she didn't think she wanted to wake up. She believed she would be crippled for life because of that. 

            There was an odd sound, vaguely like chirping, that pulled her back to wakefulness. Nari, she thought. Nari, the sparrow queen, must be trying to wake her up for something…

            Green hazel eyes fluttered open, and she promptly shut them again, when sunlight stabbed at her eyes. Squinting, she opened them again, and waited for them to adjust to the harsh white light.

            Something emitting light brighter than any flame was over her head, reminding her of the crystal mage lights that had been used on occasion in the Palace, in magic workrooms. Swallowing hard, her eyes widened and she tried to sit up, fearing that she had been taken prisoner and was going to be the latest of the Killing Devices.

            For the first time in her life, panic seized the normally calm woman. She couldn't imagine letting her soul be use to power a killing device, but she didn't think she would be given a choice. Then, as more sensation began to filter through, she almost screamed- because she realized she couldn't feel her legs.

            _NO, nono no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

"I see your awake," murmured a pleasant female voice, in heavily accented Yamani. 

            Kel's eyes snapped to the face that came into view, white rimmed and dilated. She couldn't move her arms. They were restrained. She was helpless, for the first time in her life, totally, completely, helpless…

            "We don't know how you were injured, but we should be able to make repairs to your spine, but we will need information on how you seemed to drop out of the sky like that," continued the silver haired woman. Kel didn't hear her, but instead darted her gaze around the room, looking for something, anything she could use as a weapon. Maybe she could get something sharp and-

            "You are safe," the silver haired woman repeated, slowly, and the words slowly percolated through Kel's panic stricken mind. Kel licked bone dry lips, breath slowing down. 

            "Where am I?" she croaked, trying to swallow. 

            "Safe," repeated the other woman, who reached over and poured something clear into a glass, then thrust a bent tube of some kind into it. Kel tried to sit up, but then the woman depressed a raised nub on the side of the bed, causing it to elevate and incline, shocking the poor Lady Knight. Then the tube was presented to her mouth, instead of the rim of the glass.

            Kel blinked in confusion. What kind of magic was this? 

            "The straw, put it in your mouth, and suck," the woman said in a talking-to-children type voice. This annoyed Kel to the point where she did so, awkwardly inhale the sweet, fizzy contents into her mouth and swallowing.

            The drink was good, rather like fizzy wine without the alcohol, and did a lovely job of easing her sore throat and mouth. The glass was quickly emptied, and the refilled.

            "How long was I asleep?" Kel finally asked, falling back against her pillow- one that she now realized didn't seem to be stuffed with anything she was familiar with, feathers, moss or straw.

            "A few days." The woman gave her a penetrating look. "How much do you remember?"

            Kel closed her heavy eyelids, trying to think. Now that she was clear-headed again, she realized that she was someplace totally alien to her. While the woman spoke Yamani, or a similar dialect, she was dressed in a manner that would seem indecent back home. She remembered going through that portal, and hearing Blayce go after her, falling…

            "I remember fighting the killing device, then being injured by it. Then I went through the portal that brought it there. Then falling, and I woke up here, that is all I know."

            Kel's eyes fixed on the older woman's face. "Who are you? What is this place? Are you a mage?"

            Surprise rounded the other's eyes. "Mage? No," she shook her head, recovering quickly. Kel admired her self possession. "My name is Sylia Stingray… and you are?"

            "My name is Lady Knight Kelandry of Mindelan."

            Sylia's eyes narrowed in thought. "Pleased to meet you Kelandry… and I think we have a lot to talk about."

~*~*~*~*~

            Sylia sat in her workroom, rubbing her chin in thought.

            This was one truly bizarre and unexpected development.

            Kelandry, if she was to be believed, was a warrior from another world, one that sounded, as Nene would put it, like an RP game come to vivid life. The frightening part was that it all rang true.

            Sure, they had the 'killing device' itself as proof, made of crude materials, no circuitry in the least, and with bones shaped like humans but so much larger as to be another species entirely. Those could have been created- what convinced the founder of the Knight Sabers were the small details.

            She hadn't missed the shock and panic in Kel's face when she hadn't recognized the very lamp above her head, or that she had no idea what to do with her straw. The bed moving made her look like she was going to have a heart attack.

            From the scans on the woman, her paralysis was reversible with modern medicine- healing agents to re-grow the muscle and micro circuitry or grafts to fix the damaged nerves. She had plainly lived a hard life, with many old scars and well developed muscles. Sylia smiled faintly- Kel gave Linna a run for her money when it came to being an Amazon goddess type. 

            The White Knight Saber tapped her nose in thought. Kel's reactions were too genuine, and too sane for her to be lying or mad. However, she was totally outside of the Knight Saber's equation. Could she afford to help her?

            "Sylia," said a voice, and she turned to look at her eternally younger brother, Mackie. 

            "Our patient is awake, and while she seems to know a little more about the contraption than she is letting on, I think she is trustworthy," Sylia began.

            "But you don't know what to do with her," he finished.

            "I don't think there is a way for us to send her home. I know almost nothing about inter-dimensional portals or magic at all."

            "I don't either," Mackie admitted. "Then what? We can't just turn her out- she would be helpless."

            "I need to think more about it," Sylia sighed. "Much, much more…."

            Mackie nodded and left.

To be continued!


	3. chapter three

**Lady Knight… Saber?**

****

Disclaimer: Neither Protector of the Small nor Bubblegum Crisis 2040 belong to me, and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

A/N: This is a crossover, which takes place after Lady Knight but is an AU for Bubblegum Crisis. I can't believe I've been reading this book series for the past four years and somehow been inserting an 'n' into her name every time I read it… Kami-sama, baka desu. For those who don't know, BCG 2040 is an anime (Japanese cartoon, but isn't a very accurate description) based off of the first OAV series (released directly to video) called Bubblegum Crisis.  It is after the second Great Kanto Earthquake, which leveled Tokyo and was rebuilt, using humanoid robots called Boomers. You'll see them called Voomers at times- all v's in Japanese are pronounced as b's, much like in Spanish. Boomers have a tendency to go rogue- meaning, their core, which is essentially their brain/heart containing circuitry and flesh, mutates, causing the robot to go berserk. They tend to kill a LOT of people when they do this. Sylia Stingray was the daughter of the scientist who created the boomers, and was responsible for the formation of the Knight Sabers, a group of vigilante women in advanced armor (called Hardsuits) that would hunt down the rogue boomers where the normal police and the group created to combat them (the AD Police) basically got their asses handed to them. Priss, Linna and Nene are the other Knight Sabers. Why do the boomers go rogue? How did Sylia create the Knight Sabers in the first place? What's with the mega-corporation called Gemon that manufactures the Boomers? How the hell will Kel fit into this mix?

            You'll just have to read this story to find out.

            However, if you get the chance, Bubblegum Crisis, and the 2040 series are both wonderful examples of the genre of anime. They explore the definitions of humanity, sentience, and science. I have yet to see the prequel and sequel (AD Police files and BCG Crash!). Kel would fit in here, because she knows that just because the shape is different, a creature's heart is what matters. 

            Now- to those of you who are prudes: Kel will fall for a girl. I am a slash writer. Get out now if that bothers you and reassess your own heart. I have my reasons for doing this to Kel, not the least of which is because, while she was constantly falling for boys, she never found 'the one'. Keladry is very human- one of the reasons I loved this series, of the Tortall books. She isn't the typical super heroine that Alanna was. I loved Alanna, too, but she was almost too great to be real. I feel that Tamora Pierce was broadening her horizons and writing a deeper character when she made Kel. Human sexuality is not an easy or neat topic. It was touched on in PotS, and I can't help but feel that she would have gone into more depth, but because this was a children's/young adult series, she wasn't allowed to go into more. That it was mentioned at all was very daring of her. Mainstream publishers, especially for juvenile fiction, would freak out if the main character were less than straight.

            Oh yes… for the flamers- I AM a pervert. Get over it.

            Of course… BCG 2040 won't be the ONLY universe that Kel stops in. She gets to do a little more… exploring first… (Evil laughter heard in the distance)

~*~*~*~*~

            Keladry of Mindelan sat in a wheeled chair, one that moved with the touch of a button, and stared at the box which, for all intents and purposes, was a living tapestry. Yet no tapestry could hold the brilliant colors or detail and clarity this box did. 

            Sylia had explained to her that she was in a different time or universe, she wasn't sure which, and given what Kel had seen, she believed her. There were things the older woman hadn't told her, but she knew better than to press. She was on Sylia's sufferance, after all.

            Kel wasn't used to holding still for such long periods of time. She had nothing to do- she was used to either doing paperwork or reading when she was sitting. Looking around, she noticed a bookshelf and guided her self propelled chair over to it, and ran her finger along the titles. Almost everything seemed to do with some kind of alchemy, or mathematics. While she was very good at math, all of this seemed to be over her head. She had some small pride at her scholarship- but these books were something else entirely.

            Of course, there were no books on magic. Selecting a book at random, she realized it had something to do 'energy'. 'Energy' seemed to behave a lot like the magic she had learned about, and she blinked, realizing that the two were related. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she read it quickly, noting that this particular book was in Common. This was helpful, because she could sound out the words or use context to help her get at least a general understanding. Some of the titles were in Yamani, but the symbols used in the titles were confusing, or she didn't know them at all. Kel was hooked.

            Meanwhile, Sylia was watching her guest with Mackie.

            The young woman in the chair on the monitor was very bright- and very brave and adaptable. She had a wonderful poker face, but in private, that dropped and her awe at the new world she found herself in shone through.

            "Its interesting that she can read English," Sylia wondered, "as well as Japanese. It's tempting to think she only has amnesia. However, that would not account for her accent, or that she uses a very old dialect. I would give a lot to know how she got here, but she is more useful as herself. How she got here doesn't really matter at the moment. Genom is the greater threat."

            "You can't just turn her out, she would be almost helpless out there."

            Sylia pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know that, Mackie. She seems highly intelligent, but without identification or a history, she would be unable to find work. I also doubt that being a knight would qualify her for a job as an Office Lady."

            "We can handle all those," he answered softly. Sylia nodded. "Then what? Leave her to wander around Mega Tokyo for the rest of her life?"

            "Considering what else we have to deal with," Sylia started, and then paused. She wasn't Mason, or Galatea. She couldn't just turn someone out…

            "What are you suggesting Mackie, make her into the fifth Knight Saber?" the moonlighting-as-a-lingerie-storeowner scientist muttered.

            Mackie just smiled and put his hands behind his head, whistling innocently.

            Sylia scowled at him.

~*~*~*~*~

            "Uh, hello?" asked a timid voice, and Kel turned her head to look at the young woman that had entered the room. Her brown hair was even shorter than Kel's, much to her surprise, and was dressed in a high collared shirt and breeches, with a coat slung over one arm. The lady had an athletic build, but was very well proportioned and curvy, something Kel rather envied. Open and soft blue eyes met her hazel green ones steadily, before darting away. 

            "Are you okay?"

            "I'm doing better," Kel answered, intrigued by this newcomer. 

            "Ah, good, when I found you, you didn't seem to be doing so well. I'm Linna Yamazaki," she introduced herself, and bowed.

            "I'm Keladry of Mindelan," Kel stated, trying to bow in her chair. "I'd get up to greet you properly," she smiled wryly," but that is a little beyond me at the moment."

            Linna's eyes widened. "You mean you can't walk?"

            "Apparently not, but Lady Sylia said that she should be able to fix the damage."

            "Lady?" Linna said in surprised, a hand going to her chest, eyebrows attempting to hit her hairline.

            "She seems to be one of high birth. Is that the wrong title to give her?" 

            Linna shook her head. "Its just kind of old fashioned. Sylia is rich, sure, but noble blood? Most people don't even use those kinds of titles anymore, it's really old fashioned."

            Kel blinked. The idea of no nobility… It was completely radical to her. Yet it also made her happy- because, while she knew that there would always be haves and have nots, this was a step in the right direction.

            Linna sighed. "Now businesses run the world."

            Kel grimaced. Maybe she was wrong. "How did you find me?" Kel finally asked.

            "Um, well, you dropped out of the sky. I sort of, well, caught you."

            Kel gaped- was this lady an immortal of some kind? A mage? So far she had seen nothing other than the weird devices that ran on the energy called electricity, if that book was correct. 

            Linna looked awkward for a moment.

            "She used a type of armor called a Hardsuit. It enables her to do things that wouldn't be humanly possible otherwise, like jumping extremely high, instantly gain information or communicate with others, and her strength is enormous. Her particular suit's specialty is heat ribbons that can slice through just about anything."

            To their surprise, they turned to see both Sylia and Mackie in the doorway, watching the two other women intently.

            "What's going on Sylia?" Linna asked softly, eyes serious.

            "We are going to need to prep Keladry for surgery soon," Sylia answered. "I would also like to make a deal with her. Something big is coming soon, and we will need all the help we can get. This might be against my better judgment, but considering that Kel-san fell into our laps, as it were, we need to make use of her."

            Kel raised an eyebrow, but held her peace. 

            "I don't think we can promise to get you home, Lady Knight," Mackie said, earnestly. "But we can try. However, we need to explain what is we are and what we do."

            Sylia sighed as Mackie used the word "we" but didn't say anything. She wished she could have protected her little brother for a while longer, but that didn't seem to be in the cards.

            Sister and brother sat, facing Kel and started the lengthy explanation of who and what the Knight Sabers were. 

~*~*~*~*~

            Blayce the Nothing Man had no idea where he was. After his killing device body's head had been broken, he had expected to scatter to the winds like the souls of the children he used to power his original ones. Yet now, he was inside something different. It felt much more powerful than what he had been before. 

            The original spirit inside it had been easy to displace. It had fled him, its simplistic mind terrified of this sudden invasion. Opening his… eyes, he assumed they were eyes; he wanted to blink in shock at how he saw things. Light, heat, radiation all of it were there. Sounds were tinny in his… ears. He was moving like a giant crab. He couldn't understand what was going on…

            "Unit 893, unit 893, report for maintenance," a voice called- inside his head! Before he could stop himself, he was turning and heading to someplace that his new body knew the way to. The door in front of him opened, and he scuttled inside. There was a human male in some kind of suit, one that of a type he had never seen before. The human patted his head like a dog.

            "You know, it's always annoys me when we can't afford enough parts to fix you guys properly," the man said, shaking his head. "I'll do my best to find out what is wrong though."

            Blayce couldn't control his new body yet, he realized, as his skull was opened easily and a metal tool inserted, checking around. "Oh, it doesn't too bad this time. I think you just had an electrical shock."

            More confusion. Blayce had no idea what this person was talking about. All he did know was that he had to wait, watch, and abide his time until he could break out… and get revenge on Keladry of Mindelan.

~*~*~*~*~

            Meanwhile, the object of the Nothing Man's hatred was lying down on her back, various sharp objects inserted under her skin and with a strange mask over her mouth and nose. Sylia had said it would make her go to sleep so she couldn't feel the surgery they would be doing to fix her back.

            "I almost wish I could be awake through it," she commented to her new friend Linna, who squeezed her hand reassuringly. "All of this is so new. I'm curious to see what they would be doing to me."

            "You're in good hands," Linna said. "But I doubt you would want to watch. Surgery tends to be on the gross side, even when you fight all the time."

            Kel smiled wryly, and was about to answer-

~*~*~*~*~

            "How did it go?" asked Nigel, as Sylia removed her facemask and coif. 

            "It was fairly routine. The doctors I hired won't say a word, but the nerve grafts didn't take very well. We had to use artificial ones, with some boomer parts to fix them completely. It was all they could do. The damage was worse than we feared actually. It wasn't beyond our scope to fix, but still… I'm glad we didn't have to do much more. We explained to her what would be necessary to repair her."

            "How did she take that?" he asked, after a long drag on his cigarette, his face its usual expressionless mask. 

            "Better than I had expected. It may be that it hasn't struck her that she has no real way of getting home."

            "Are you sure she isn't some kind of cosplay accident?"

            "I'm sure, Nigel," she sighed. "She has the muscles, calluses and scars of an experienced fighter. With only a little bit of therapy, she will be up and about in no time…"

            "You are keeping her," he said baldly.

            "No real choice. Linna likes her, and she is growing on me as well. I don't know how to get her home, at all."

            "Now, we need to see what Gemon has been up to..."

~*~*~*~*~

            Kel woke up to the sound of someone strumming a lute. Or else something like a lute, she didn't know what the instrument was, but she enjoyed listening to it immensely. It flittered along at first, before growling deep in her bones before shrieking high. It held a raw emotion that spoke to the displaced knight. It told of confusion, of anger and pain, then finally finding a way to ride the chaos around it. Looking around, she noticed that she was on her belly, with a hole in the table that she could look through, and was actually fairly comfortable. 

            "Hey, she's awake!" chirped a new voice, and three women came into view. Linna she knew, but the other girl was about a year or so younger than Kel herself, with short cropped blond hair and blue eyes, fresh faced and innocent. She exuded an energy that made Kel think of a puppy- indomitably cheerful and good natured, mischievous, and intelligent. Behind her was another woman, with an instrument strapped to her back. Her face and eyes were carefully blank, the shadow to the other girl's light. She was the tallest of the lot, wearing a red leather jacket, with dark brown hair that looked like someone had cut it with hedge shears, and a leather bustier and pants.

            "So, you're Keladry?" smiled the blond girl. "I'm Nene Romanova, and this is Priss Asagiri. We're going to be your other team-"

            "I don't play with amateurs," Priss interrupted, frowning. "She ain't proved herself yet."

            "Give her a chance, Priss," Linna said softly, frowning back, her expression hurt. "She's a knight; that means she knows how to fight already."

            Priss didn't answer, just turned to leave, and Linna fumed. 

            "She's got a good heart, really," Linna said to herself. "Really."

            Kel blinked, surprised that she recognized the expression on Linna's face as one she had had several times, when looking at Dom, Neal, or Cleon. The lady knight had the grace to be embarrassed. 

            "Man, what happened to your hair??" suddenly exclaimed Nene, who had walked behind the bench that Kel was laid out on.

            "My hair?" Kel blinked. Linna rushed over and gaped, her mouth open like a fish.

            "Its- its white!"

            "WHAT?" 

            Nene took the bag she had slung over her shoulder and stuck her hand in, fishing around for something. Out came a small hand mirror, and she positioned it in front of Kel's face. The Lady Knight blinked, opened her mouth, and then shut it again.

            Her wasn't _entirely_ white, but it was close, as thick streaks of silver threaded her mouse brown hair. The effect was startling, because of her still young face, and the white making her green eyes stand out all the more. Kel couldn't make up her mind if she liked the effect or not.

            "I guess it was stress?" Linna asked, waving her hands in the air in confusion. 

            Kel blinked, and sighed, remembering how her own mother had gone completely white by age thirty. Considering how her life had gone- Kel didn't think she should be surprised.

            Home…

            The thought struck her with such force, realizing that she would never see her mother or father or Neal or Raoul or Dom or any of her friends… The effort to keep her face Yamani blank was a loosing one.

            No Tobe or Nari or Peachblossom, or Hoshi… those she loved, all of them, never again to see…

            Kel tried to hide her face in the table she rested on, when she felt some soft paper rasp her face. She looked up into Linna's compassionate eyes.

            "What's wrong?" she asked, and Kel bit her lip. Her words stumbled out, in a rush, almost incomprehensible. Linna and Nene listened patiently, with Linna wiping Kel's eyes and Nene trying to perk her up. Kel told little stories, about how she met Crown, the first sparrow queen, her horse Peachblossom, Neal, and how her mother saved the Sacred Swords of Yaman.

            The tears were cathartic. They washed out the horrible pains she had kept walled up, and helped her find calmness, if not acceptance, with her new situation.

            "We'll do our best to help you find a way home," Nene said with conviction. "If I can't find it, then I'm sure Sylia can try to!"

            "That might take a while," interrupted the leader of the Knight Sabers. "In the meantime, we need you well, Lady Knight- and maybe we can stop the Boomers."

To be continued!


	4. chapter four

Lady Knight... Saber? IV

  
  


Disclaimer: The Protector of the Small belongs to Tamora Pierce and Random House, and Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 belongs to ADV. I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

  
  


Linna wheeled Keladry into the rehabilitation and physical therapy gym that Sylia had reserved for them. Kel's eyes hit her eyebrows at the range of strange equipment before her, but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, it won't eat you," the Knight Saber joked. "The parallel bars are for practicing walking, those are weights to build up strength in your legs and arms," she pointed to each gadget, describing what they could do. "There is a pool you can swim in over there."

"Swimming?" Kel said wistfully. She hadn't went swimming in years, because it wasn't considered proper by her year-mates to see her in nothing but a loincloth and breast band. 

Linna grinned. "Its supposed to be really good for people who have been paralyzed. I'll go get you a suit," she said cheerfully and trotted off to find her a bathing suit. When she returned, Kel's eyes nearly bugged out. It was a soft blue, with cream accents, and would barely cover her torso...

"I hope you don't mind this, it looks to be about your size, and since its just you and me... I'm not sure what you are used to, I mean, if its too dowdy, its an old style, most people I know of who wear this style..." Linna sighed, hoping that Kel wouldn't mind the rather modest bathing suit.

"You want me to wear THAT? Its- its-"

"Ugly?" 

"Improper!"

"Well, what else would you swim in? Or swim nude?"

Kel balked, then reconsidered. She wanted to swim. No one was there but her and Linna. Linna was wearing a bit of cloth that covered even less than the one she had given Kel. Not that Kel minded...

The thought was a mere blip internally, she barely even recognized it as such. Had she noticed what she was thinking... She might have panicked.

"You'll have to help me get this thing on," Kel said stonily. She was brought up for girls to wear much more. It felt odd, to know the what would have gotten her stoned or arrested as a child was considered fashionable here. Then she shrugged. New land, new customs, and new ways of doing things were all old habits to her. 

Kel had little trouble removing her short sleeved, white shirt, which Linna had called a 'tee-shirt' (something else new to her) and then the halter called a 'sports' bra'. She then unfastened the calf length skirt from around her waist, and then the loincloth like thing called panties. 

The Lady Knight managed to get them down around her knees, before levering herself up enough for Linna to remove them the rest of the way. Kel wasn't embarrassed- she was used to the ladies' baths of the palace, but Linna didn't look all the perturbed either.

"We wear skin tight clothing called soft suits, under our Hardsuits," Linna said, after Kel's questioning look. "And public baths. I know that Westerners are supposed to be really shy about nudity, but you aren't. That makes things easier," she commented, and helped her get the one piece suit over her legs and up to her waist.

"I'm an Easterner," Kel protested, pulling the front of the suit over her breasts. They started to wheel over to the pool.

"Have any feeling in your feet yet?"

Kel nodded. She had been able to move her toes this morning. The rest of her legs tingled, pins and needles. When she had mentioned this to Sylia, the woman had been surprised, commenting that she was recovering very quickly.

"This water smells odd," Kel commented to Linna, looking at the very blue waters of the artificial pool. 

"It's treated with chemicals to keel algae from growing in it," Linna replied, before helping Kel out of the chair, and to the edge of the pool. Linna then jumped in- the water was about four feet deep at that spot. They eased the paralyzed knight into the water, and Kel wanted to squeal with delight, though her Yamani mask kept her from doing so. The water was just the right temperature, below body temperature, feeling like silk against her skin. Wiggling her toes, she moved her arms to tread the water while Linna kept her head up. The pins and needles feeling in her legs increased-

Kel suddenly yelped as bolts of agony made her lower half clench, her teeth grating. Her hands clawed into Linna's arms, making the other girl yip in surprise and pain. The knight thrashed in the water, causing waves to splatter over the sides of the pool. The yells worked to a full fledged scream- and Kel's eyes rolled up in the back of her head. She went still, and nearly slipped completely under the water before Linna snatched her to the surface. 

"Kel? KEL!" Linna exclaimed, shaking her, then lightly slapping her face. Kel's eyelids fluttered, and she groggily realized someone was holding her. Linna thought that if they weren't in water, she couldn't have held Kel up- the woman was very solid.

"Whaaa?"

"Are you all right? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kel groaned, now that the pain was gone, she felt like she was part of the water she was submerged in. Her bones didn't exist anymore; at least, she was fairly sure they didn't. Hissing softly, she got her feet under her, because she didn't like having someone need to hold her up like that-

She stood.

Linna gaped. 

Kel blinked at her, wondering why she looked so shocked- and realized she was standing. 

Even as she realized it, her knees buckled, but she could feel them again. She could feel them, could tell they were weak and was able to attempt to stiffen her knees.

"MY LEGS!" Kel cried joyfully, in a most un-Yamani manner. 

Pulling away, she held herself up in the water, by clinging to the side, then laughing, and launching herself out to swim. Her legs attempted to drag, straining, and her swimming was awkward- but they were moving. The fear that she might never walk again, that had been shoved to the back of her mind, broke free. Kel started crying- and she felt an arm around her shoulder. The tears of joy and released tension kept flowing, but Linna didn't say anything, just gave her the comfort of her presence. Kel was grateful. Words wouldn't have been appropriate right then.

~*~*~*~*~*~

  
  


Nigel and Sylia looked over the specs for the newest Hardsuit they were building. The conceptualization had gone along easily enough. Kel's brain waves, while unusual, fit well with Sylia's- not as a match, but as a harmonization. This meant that a suit could be built for her- but it would be different than the others…

The various sections were assembled. 

"Here is one of my own cores," Sylia said softly. "I've re-tuned it, so that it will work with Kel's brain waves." Carefully she inserted it into the new Hardsuit, watching as it shrank down to the specifications of its wearer. It absorbed the cold light, and Sylia smiled faintly, looking at the enamel patch that was the only thing Kel had requested. It was a shield shaped badge, a gray owl on a field of blue, with crossed glaives outlined in gold below it. The entire badge was bordered by two stripes; the outer blue, and the inner one was cream. It went on the left shoulder.

"That oddly fits," Nigel said flatly. Turning, the two lovers left quietly, leaving the polished powered armor there.

~*~*~*~*~

  
  


"What?" Sylia yelped, listening to Linna babble over the phone. "She can use her legs now? Getting feeling back should have taken weeks! Let alone use! Bring her back here, we need to do some more tests…"

Linna, on her end, just nodded, watching as Kel went through her last set of weight training. She had swam for a good hour, just enjoying the water and that she could use her legs, albeit awkwardly. Linna had then had the ungainly task of dragging her out, and getting her to the chair again. From there, they had tried various weight machines- which had amused Kel no end.

"I'm used to using my own body weight and a weighted harness for these kinds of things," the knight had remarked, as the stretched and flexed the legs. Kel would have slight spasms, like muscle cramps on occasion. They didn't stop her for long. Linna had to wonder about how quickly she was recovering.

"Sylia wants us back at the Pit," the Green Knight Saber told her friend, and Kel nodded. She felt a little wistful that she wasn't going to get to use the other 'toys' there, but she knew when to obey an order. 

The trip back was uneventful. When they arrived, Linna shuddered, seeing the machine that they had strapped on her when she went through her trial to be a Knight Saber. The memories of the simulation were not… pleasant.

"Linna, would you please assist me?" Sylia said, businesslike. Linna bit her lip, and nodded. Nene walked in, carrying some more equipment, and Kel stared as she had little white disks attached to the sides of her head.

"What are you doing?" Kel asked in concern, looking around at the assorted faces.

"I told you we had to give you some boomer parts to help with your damaged nerves. In the normal course of healing, you should have taken far longer to get feeling back, let alone use of your legs. This is highly unusual. I need to see what is causing this, and if it will cause ill affects down the road."

Kel nodded, and she grinned despite herself, as she was helped from the chair. The surprise on Nene and Sylia's faces as she moved her legs, not yet able to support her weight, to get to the harness, was very satisfying.

Then she was strapped in.

The other women left, and the room darkened, and Kel wondered if this would be like the Chamber of the Ordeal. 

The lights came back up- and she was in some kind of armor. It was green, and she was hearing the voices of Linna, Nene and Sylia. Her body moved to get into some kind of giant tube, as a door opened to it- and energy crackled around her, and she was then shot into the air like an arrow. Nene was beside her, telling her how to use her jump jets- and then they both bounced off the flat roof below them. Kel was almost sick. She was flying! All that- that emptiness beneath her-

Rushing, they both entered an eating house, and saw Priss smacking on some kind of monster with a pipe. It looked female... with a giant tongue. Kel wanted to flinch, but the spidrens she had seen, and the killing devices, were just as bad. Yet, this looked so grotesque... 

She heard Sylia telling her to crush its core- and she charged in. Only her armor- she realized it was a Hardsuit- had frozen up. Shock hit her, then anger. She knew to never go out fighting in equipment that was in less than perfect shape! 

LIGHT!  
"Ugh," Kel said eloquently. She looked around, panting. 

"You just had use the records from my first time in a Hardsuit, didn't you?" Linna sighed, as Nene giggled beside her. Sylia didn't look at them, but answered softly.

"She needed to see what would happen when things go wrong." 

Linna sighed and nodded. "She doesn't look too scared, though. In fact, her readings were much calmer than mine were, when you compared them."

"Yes," Sylia murmured. "Her artificial nerves have apparently increased the speed of her reflexes. Yet... it seems like her own nerves have started to heal... and they have integrated with the artificial ones."

Sylia tapped her chin thoughtfully. "The reason people can't go as fast as they think, is because it takes so long for their nerve impulses to travel from brain to spine to muscles. This could have either the effect of reducing that lag, or else just helping her heal faster... Either way, this will be fascinating to study."

"It won't hurt her?" Nene asked, eyebrows raised. Sylia shrugged. 

"It shouldn't, but we'll keep monitoring the situation."

"What, in the name of the Black God, was THAT?" Kel called out, as Nene and Linna came down to help her out of the harness.

"We were wanting to see how you would react to being in a Hardsuit, and why you are healing so fast. Other than the boomer parts, that is."

Kel reached over and started to look over the restraints, and managed to remove them, bracing her legs. Gasping, she realized that she was able to hold herself up, so long as she stayed leaned back. This was... wonderful!

~*~*~*~*~

  
  


"Um, Nene, you mind showing me how to use this again?" Kel asked, as she cautiously poked what the genius hacker had called a 'keyboard'. The Knight could understand the 'board' part, but keys should have been something else… It was another of those things she was learning to take as a given in this new place. She found that if she suspended her disbelief about something being impossible, it was easier for her to accept it. Like this computer, for example…

"You enter the information you need to retrieve, and this will search the databases- think of them as thousands and thousands of books compressed into a machine. That's how you do a search."

"I'll take your word for it," Kel muttered, shaking her head. So much, without use of the Gift…

"Priss is going to take you shopping this afternoon," Nene said, her attention on her screen. "She said she wanted to know what a real knight was like and if she had company Leon wouldn't bother her…"

Kel sighed and blanked out what Nene was saying after getting the pertinent information- the younger woman liked to ramble. It wasn't that Kel didn't enjoy talking to someone about her age- it was that Nene loved to 'techno-babble' as Linna had put it. Kel would be able to pick up one word in three. It was worse than learning another language, because even though Nene KNEW Kel had no idea what she was talking about, she would do it anyways.

Still… all of this was fascinating…

About five hours later, Nene was pulling the crutch bound Knight away from the computer she was practicing on. 

"But I want to see the rest of the planet from space! The sky hook project is so interesting! The information on past wars- what is a nuclear bomb? Is it like blood rain?" Kel was nearly babbling, because she felt like her head was about to burst. So MUCH information, and it was so easy to access! Maps, histories, sciences! All of it!

"A nuclear bomb is- well, its like this, a lot of very little things implode, then explode. Makes a big, big boom. I don't know what blood rain is so I can't say, why don't you ask Sylia when we get back?"

"Okay, okay," Kel muttered, looking around. She was gradually becoming more accustomed to this new world she was in. She had cried her tears about being lost, and knew that she could handle it now...

"How does this work?" the Lady Knight asked as they made their way to a bus- which Nene had called mass transit.

"Combustion engine."

Okay, maybe Kel didn't know as much as she thought she did...

The arrival back at the Pit was quiet, until both Nene and Kel looked into the middle-

And saw a jet black Hardsuit.

"Its beautiful!" Nene whispered, and Kel had to agree. It was completely matte in finish, taking in all the light and giving nothing back. Over the fingers were sheathes for four blades, and the Mindelan badge shone proudly in counterpoint to the darkly handsome mecha.

"Its got some... special features," Sylia said with amusement, after she was glared at by Nene for making another 'too advanced suit for a new kid'. "We'll work on those after you have tried it on. There is the changing room, we'll be up in the control room. Do you need any help?"

Kel considered for a bit- the open suit looked like it might be hard to haul herself into with nothing but her crutches. (Metal crutches that were adjustable. If she ever got home, she would suggest them to Duke Baird.)

"A chair, or someone down here incase I call on my face," she requested, and Sylia went to get a stool.

Kel obligingly crutched over to the dressing room and saw, for the first time, the 'soft suit' that went underneath the Hardsuit. It made the 'swim suit' she'd worn with Linna look modest. It covered everything- but everything was shown. She stripped off her clothes and started the process of putting it on, which was not as easy as it sounds when one had trouble standing. Get it on, after a number of fun and colorful acrobatics and flavorful cursing, she did. 

"Its pretty comfortable," she said, looking down at herself. The other knights would never think of her as a guy again, after seeing her in something like that...

Crutching out, she looked at the odd contraption.

"It will be cold at first," came a voice over the intercom. Kel nodded, and carefully balanced one knee on the stool and maneuvered a leg inside. She felt rather like she was doing some gymnastics by the time she had finished. 

The Lady Knight muttered some unladylike things about it just being 'cold'.

Her legs were completely braced now, and her arms fell naturally into the hands of the suit, and she pulled herself up. The suit locked over her- and she paused. The feeling now was wearing nothing at all- it seems to respond to any thought and action. What was even more wonderful was that she could walk without the awkwardness of the crutches!

Mentally she cheered- when Sylia's voice came over the intercom.

"Ladies, there is a report of a mad boomer in the city. All of you save Kel and I will stay here, we need to contain it."

~*~*~*~*~

  
  


Blayce the Boomer was confused- he was now a passenger, holding on for dear life has his new body attacked buildings and people randomly. This new form had mutated, changing into something even more monstrous than the Killing Creations of his making. It was odd... strange...

Intoxicating...

He loved watching the blood flow, seeing the beautiful suffering and wonderful wanton destruction... Blayce always had. Here was the power he wanted, to take lives, to feel the crunch, the crush of bone and metal and flesh under him. 

Metal squealed in protest as he landed on a vehicle, and he was soon surrounded by the civil guard, if he was correct...

FOOLS! They could do NOTHING to harm him!

Had he still been human he would have laughed, instead his new body made a screeching sounds-

"THIS IS THE AD POLICE! YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED!"

Meaningless noises-

"Wait," hissed a nearby voice-

"Its the Knight sabers!"

Looking up with everyone else, Blayce saw three mechanical forms above him...

  
  


To be continued!


End file.
